The Catch is a worldwide virtual community of first century Christians who are seeking to be a compassionate voice of reason in the twenty-first Century marketplace.
What do we mean by First Century Christians? It means we are discovering and living the Christian life as if we were the first Christians – no one’s done this before. All the successes and failures of the past are just that – in the past. We are charting a new course; we are making our own history. It is not the faith of our fathers; it is our faith, and if it is not our faith, then it is someone else’s and not vital to us.
It’s as if there were no early church, no Vatican, no Holy Wars, no Crusades, no Reformation, no revival meetings, no Sunday School, no denominations, no Christian subculture, no culture wars and no worship wars. There is just us, today, in the here-and-now, figuring out what it means to walk in the Spirit.
It’s as if…
there were no preconceptions as to what a Christian is. We don’t really care what people think a Christian is because that does not apply to us. What a Christian is, is what we are today. We are defining the word “Christian” with our lives. It doesn’t matter what others think a Christian is or is not, because a Christian is who we are.
As if…
what we look and act like when we follow Christ is not something we are trying to emulate because no one’s seen a Christian before. Learning what it means to be a Christian and follow Christ is a moment-by-moment adventure because no one’s done this before. We are not living up to a long (or short, for that matter) list of what a Christian should be and do; we are experiencing what a Christian should be and do by stepping by faith into the next moment.
As if…
we just got the Bible yesterday and we are trying to figure out what it means for the first time. We are allowing the word to speak fresh into our lives free of encumbering interpretations that can so easily mask the critical, timely interpretation of what the word is saying to us today … right now.
As if…
the Holy Spirit just got here today, and we are speaking things we never learned, hearing things we’ve never heard before. God is putting words in our mouth.
Am I suggesting we throw away history? No, of course not. I am one who appreciates history as much as anyone, but I am talking about living in the intimacy and immediacy of faith with fresh eyes always on the truth. In fact, throughout history, in every age there have been those who lived as first century Christians. Pascal, whom we looked at yesterday, was a first century Christian who lived in 1650. First century Christians hear from the Lord and define the truth for their generation, and live it out as if their life depended on it. That’s because it does.
John Fischer The Catch 
I’m in!
It’s as if… this captures my lifelong desire to live like Jesus lived, as well as my sharing his occasional frustrations with those who are simply “Religious.” And I believe there are kindred spirits among us, calling themselves “Renegade Christians” and “Christ Followers” instead of simply “Christian.”
But let’s beware: once “First Century Christian” catches on (or Renegade, or X Follower, or whatever), some will narrow and define it in their own way. In many ways the “Jesus People” movement of the 60s sought what we seek – to rediscover and live out a relationship with God in the moment, in today’s world, to follow paths not marked out by their (our) fathers. But ultimately “Jesus People” became, in the minds of most, a simple blending of “Hippy” and “Christian.”
My point? While there is an empowerment in the name, along with a new attitude, what’s important is the faith that is put into action, the living out of a new sort of relationship.
I take your point, I believe, but I always want to start with being Biblical, so don’t forget:
– It’s the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3)
– Paul said to imitate him (1 Cor. 4:16), and we are told elsewhere to imitate those who are faithful, both before and after Jesus (Heb. 6:12 and 13:7) — because there is a very real continuity between the saints of the old covenant and those of the new.
– And I think that we really, really don’t want to try to figure out from scratch everything the Bible means. Remember all the pain that was involved in the theological “heavy lifting” that, during the early centuries, went into event such matters as the doctrine of the Trinity? And that’s just one example. There are times we want to see past what became the “received wisdom” determined in those early centuries, but I would be extremely reticent to set it all aside.
You say you don’t want to forget history. I’m not sure if you’re just trying to say, “No, I didn’t mean what I just said literally, but I was being hyperbolic.” Perhaps there’s a place for that (hyperbole helps to make points — Jesus loved it), but we do need to be careful.
It’s one thing, entirely appropriate, to say we must not be blinded by tradition, but if we say we seriously want to act like it’s all brand new once again, I believe we’ll make a tragic mistake. Again, maybe I don’t fully take the point of the way you’re saying this (though I do believe I take your real point). Some who have spoken In a similar fashion were, in fact, advocating an intentionally historically unaware approach. I would urge consideration that an even more (not less) aware historical approach is preferable, that we may learn to spot the excesses and errors that are found in every age (and which change from age to age). It really seems to me that to do otherwise is almost certain to make us completely blind to how much we’re reading scripture simply through the current age’s preconceptions (and then living our Christian lives based more on reaction against the receding age’s mistakes than on a truly impassioned effort to get rid of accumulated detritus).
In our age, we won’t make the mistakes made during the Crusades, but we’ll certainly make mistakes consistent with the biases of the contemporary mindset. Throwing out what came before will not help in trying to minimize those mistakes, but will probably only aggravate them.
Andrew… I had to read this through twice to get your meaning, but you are right. To effectively walk in the Spirit we must be aware of the past (to know where we’ve come from), and, know what we have been shown of the future in order to have our Hope alive. Then, the “now” (in Christ) can operate clearly….. in God’s Spirit….. which is beyond “time”. I’m really not trying to sound cosmic in all this, but we aren’t in the 1st century anymore. We are the 21st century Church…. and the “wedding” is soon to commence because the Bridegroom is very near. Our main job is make sure we have enough oil in our lamps, and to trim the wick so we can see Him as He approaches….. and tell others!
When Moses asked God who should I tell Pharaoh sent me. God said,”I am who I am”. God is a God of the right here right now. He is a God of the present. We need the past to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes again, yet we always do, if not this generation then the next. The world moves ahead only because the Holy Spirit moves the people in it, we have no self initiative. So living in the present as if we begin anew is like the new convert who has just discovered God. The new convert who has just had the Holy Spirit provide them with salvation. The joy the newness, the sheer delight of being totally cognizant of God and how much He loves us is an experience that has a freshness that I never want to lose. If it fades I want it back and much deeper than before.
Because my life is governed by time, the past, present and future are part of my thought pattern. Yet God says enter my rest, and that is the right here and right now…..live in the I am who I am. Then you will live in time but experience eternity….Wow! Do you think that God made time so that we could learn to wait for Him and live in the now while anticipating the future yet delighting in the present as if there was nothing but God right here right now. It is the past and the future that can create stress in our lives……and yes we do need them…..but the worry free right here, right now is what I desire as if ….